Anxiety & Exercise

[frazm88]

Morning,

Does anyone else get the following whilst exercising -

I've recently started back playing football after a year or two away, when I start running my chest gets tight and my throat closes up with pains in my chest, sometimes its fine and sometimes i get the above. Saying that my chest is tights alot with anxiety and I think I now expect it to happen.

Generally I'd say I'm unfit but not to the point of gasping for air after one run.

[xrachykinsx]

Obviously tight chest is a symptom of anxiety- as you already know. But I started doing zumba recently..and I'm pretty unfit really. My instructor would constantly remind everyone that if they were getting a tight chest..it was fine..it just meant you wern't getting enough oxygen into your system and that you need to breathe deeply through your nose and out through your mouth..so it's possibly just a case of this for you too?

[frazm88]

thanks for the reply, yeah I think that myself as well, I was considering a dr's appointment but I try my best to avoid these as it often leads to me being told its anxiety and I feel like i'm not only wasting their time but also mines.

[TelBoy]

Allow Fraz

I have had all what you explained.... is this the first time you have had this? IF so.... just go to the GP and ask for ECG and perhaps heart scan JUST to be on the safe side.... once all ok,, then carry on as usual..
easier said than done I know... but my advice is go and get checked and don't worry about wasting GPs time etc.... you need to just get it checked..:)
I have had panic, chest pains also going up to my neck etc and have been checked out at A&Es several times,, thankfully it has all been ok!! So the quickest way for you to find out if yer 100% ok, is to go to an A&E and be checked . just say you have chest pains etc and you will be seen first as they don't usually let people with chest pains wait.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yes, it could anxiety or just that you are now looking for the symptoms and noticing things more.

If you have a concern, your GP can easily check you out as said above.

You've not done it for a while so your fitness level will drop and something I've noticed with anxiety is that my general fitness has dropped with suffering from it. So, it could easily just mean you need to work your way back to fitness.

[frazm88]

thanks for all the replie, i'm going to go to the GP's and get it checked out just for sure.

I feel it maybe down to my lack of fitness and also anxiety adding to it.

[Rennie1989]

If you're unfit then the tight chest and pain sounds like you've just gone heavy on the running. You're body isn't used to it. To me this just sounds like typical symptoms of exercising.

[frazm88]

yeah you maybe right, I'll just have to gradually biuld my fitness up I guess. I think anxiety maybe's making me more aware of them.

[Steve37]

I do Yoga and Pilates. They're great for anxiety!:D

[frazm88]

I done yoga for a while so may go back to it.

[Rennie1989]

Don't let the anxiety deter you away from exercising, the symptoms will ease off and you'll start to feel better about yourself, physically and mentally :)

[wabbit1]

Hiya, running is a sport which is going to leave you short of breath. I took up running a year ago and felt exactly the same. I'm asthmatic too so that means I can tell the difference between my breathing being bad due to anxiety/asthma. Although my asthma does flare up when the anxiety is really bad.

I've found running a great way to help with my anxiety and helps a lot with panic attacks. If I know I'm getting warning signs of one I go out a run and usually it stops it in its tracks as I can clear my head.

[Ryan92]

Hi Fraz, exercise is a great way to help lower anxiety so good job :)

When I take my dog walks, after around 20-30 minutes my chest feels tight probably because Im unfit and my anxiety kicks in and my chest can feel tight because of my anxiety .( I don't get out much due to my anxiety issues so I feel very anxious when I do go out ).

[Antianxiety]

I get the chest tightness all the time and "xrachykinsx" is right, not enough oxygen getting in and you yourself begin to tighten your muscles up which then get your brain thinking "this is the big one, oh no!".

[frazm88]

thanks for the replies guys, yeah I believe that its just a normal symptom of exercise generally and then I latch on to it.

I went to football training last night and it seems fine, I'm going to just build it up, improve my diet and see how things go from there.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Thats good news then.

Prevent it embedding in your subconscious and it will be easier to dismiss if it does happen.


Im the same, anxiety easily latches onto similiar bodily sensations and it wants you to avoid them as a safety behaviour.

[teej]

Hi,

I'm in quite good shape - normal BMI - exercise several times a week at varying intensities - I run and I cycle.

This last week I've been having a terrible time with my anxiety because I forgot doses of sertraline (like 3 or 4 of them *facepalm*) and I've got a very tight chest at the moment - I went for a 5K run last night and it was quite uncomfortable.

I'm seeing the doctor on Monday and will mention it.

I kind of figure since I've had it over a week and not dropped dead yet it's not imminently serious. I hope. I was going to mention it Friday to the doc but was in such a state I forgot.

[MyNameIsTerry]

It sounds like your missed doses have caused you withdrawal symptoms Teej. Did you miss some on consecutive days? You have to taper off from anti depressants or they can cause you a lot of anxiety which might be what you are experiencing. Missing a dose for a day is explained in the instructions so see what it advises.

[teej]

Hiya Terry...

Yeah - I think I managed to miss about 3 - 4 days in a go. Entirely unintentional because I was feeling so good it wasn't even crossing my mind to take them.

I've bought myself a pill box now so I know if I've taken my dose! I'm only going to do that once! Such grim side effects.

I went out on a nice bike ride today and had no problems so hopefully it's behind me for now.

T

[MyNameIsTerry]

Thats good news Teej.

[JustJules]

I started a new job back in November after being made redundant and it now involves walking half a mile at night to a bus stop and I was so stressed out but even so I found the walk really hard and it gave me chest pain so I am now convinced I have angina and try not to go out in my lunch our in case the chest pain starts so am becoming more and more anxious and can't convince myself it's just stress...had an ECG and bloods done in A&E a few months ago while I pain and both ok...can this be just stress and unfit...I am 57. To scared to go to drs. I just feel so worn out. :weep::weep:

[MyNameIsTerry]

Jules, yes, if you haven't done any exercise in a while you will need to build yourself back up. Try walking shorter distances and gradually build it up past the distance that you need to cover.

How is your general health? You may want to discuss it with your GP if its not been good before you take on any exercise routine.

Anxiety symptoms can seem similar to exercise or you may link the 2 when they are different, so you feel the fear from exercise but as long as your health is ok and you do things sensible, you can overcome it by exposing yourself to it enough until it loses its power over you.

[ohwell123]

I pre thought of something sinister happening before I excercised therefore my body went into worry mode yet there was nothing to worry about

one day it was shooting chest pains then another day I felt like I was gonna faint so if you worry before excercise all muscles etc will go tight fuelling more worry